How to Teach the Violin to an Adult Student

Teaching adults how to play the violin is very rewarding. The main reason is that adults have usually given a lot of thought before embarking on a musical endeavor. So they know what they want, they are motivated and they are willing to do what it takes to succeed. But unforeseen, inevitable circumstances of the adult life do not always make the journey easy.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Be realistic in your expectations. An adult who starts learning the violin does it for the pleasure, not by obligation. Therefore, the person doesn't feel the same kind of commitment as far as practice time.
2. Be patient. One motivating aspect of teaching adults is that they learn much faster than a child because of their ability to grasp abstract concepts. But there is a trade-off. Because learning the violin is mainly a question of muscle memory, an adult will take more time than a child to learn certain movements.
3. Treat them as adults, not as children who need to be disciplined and put back into focus. Adults will look at you more as an equal than as a teacher, even though you possess the knowledge that they pay you for. The mindset of teaching adults is very different and you should never lose sight of that.
4. Be understanding. Adults have life obligations and face a lot of unexpected situations. Even if they desperately want to find time to practice, they simply may not be able to do so. Let them know that a 5-minute practice every day or every other day will produce better results than 15 minutes every 5 days.
5. Be aware that the retention rate among adult students is low. They may have underestimated what learning a musical instrument entails, and so when life gets in the way it can become impossible for them to continue taking lessons, at least at that specific time.
6. Always part in good terms so to leave the door open for an eventual comeback. Not only will you not hurt your reputation, but you may end up with a few references from that person.